Penguins’ Malkin held out of practice with knee injury

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin did not practice Friday in Philadelphia because of an unspecified knee injury but said he expects to play Saturday night against the Flyers.

Malkin, last season’s NHL rookie of the year, was eighth in the league in scoring going into Friday night’s games with five goals and 16 assists in 16 games.

The Penguins, losers of two in a row and four of five, are expected to start Marc-Andre Fleury in goal Saturday night. Fleury was held out of the lineup for two games as backup Dany Sabourin played, but returned to make 35 saves in a 4-2 loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday.

Defenseman Ryan Whitney is expected to play Saturday after sitting out four games with a groin injury.